ANALYSIS: The Jammu and Kashmir situation: The Security Forces

NEW DEHLI – Of all the pieces in the Kashmiri jigsaw, none has been more criticized than the security forces, whether it is the army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), or the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Alleged actions by them have triggered off protests time and again and now the protests have snowballed into the phenomenon of stone-pelting. This, in turn, has provoked more firings and more casualties. No end of the cycle of violence seems to be in sight with the separatists providing a weekly calendar of protests and laying down conditions.

While they have been pilloried on a daily basis, it is necessary to dispassionately discuss the role and presence of the security forces who have become an inextricable part of the Kashmir issue…__________